Creatures of the night

Delhi is a great place for ghosts. They have been haunting it for centuries-or so says folklore. When Shahjahanabad was built as a new city, the ghosts were already there from the time of the Afghans, who had an old fort at the site of the one built by Shah Jahan.

Just below the walls of the citadel is the shrine of Bhure Mian, whose "jalal" (fiery spiritual temper) was such that not even a bird could fly over his grave. If it did so, it just fell down dead. The saint was later appeased. Old Delhiwallahs believe that every Thursday a procession, led by the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar and his queen, Zeenat Mahal, comes out of the Lahore Gate, and after circumambulating the Red Fort, goes back inside silently. Many years ago, the caretaker of the fort, Asghar Ali Khan, disclosed that he had seen medieval spirits in the Dewan-e-Am and the Dewan-e-Khas while on his nightly inspection. Some newspapers covered the supposed paranormal happenings but all that their photographers got was the picture of a shadowy figure, or just a blank negative.

The Delhi Gate, which leads to Daryaganj, is also said to be haunted. Or, rather, the tree that grows outside it is. The story goes that a British Tommy shot dead a sweeper woman there one morning. The soldier used to be on sentry duty and had fallen in love with the woman, but when he found out that she was going to be married shortly, he killed her and then himself, too. People claim to have heard banshee wails from the old peepul tree, part of which was uprooted in a storm some years ago. The Tommy is said to walk from there to the fort every night, with his head in his hand. That would mean that the Daryaganj street and beyond are also haunted.

Going towards Kashmere Gate, one encounters Lothian Bridge, and a road at the side of it which leads to the oldest Christian cemetery in Delhi, with graves dating back to the East India Company era. This place is also said to be haunted by spirits of white men and women who are buried there. But that doesn't prevent people from encroaching on the cemetery and actually living in it with their families. Ask them about ghosts, and they either ridicule them or sometimes solemnly affirm that all stories are not untrue.

Kashmere Gate itself was believed to be haunted by a white lady who sat outside it smoking a cigarette and surprising travellers by suddenly appearing in front of them. Mercifully, the gate has been closed and a new entrance to ISBT made by knocking off a part of the old city wall. So the white lady seems to be passing her nights alone, as nobody goes past her now. Just across the road is Nicholson's Cemetery, where the legendary Brig-Gen John Nicholson is buried. He died during the Mutiny and is believed to rest fitfully. People try not going to the cemetery in the evening, but till recently, smack users and drug addicts found it a safe haven. The caretaker says he hasn't seen any supernatural activity, though a friend of his confided that he has seen many unusual things but is loath to admit so for fear of losing his job.

If you go further, towards Hindu Rao Hospital, you will hear more ghost yarns. Here, young medicos on night duty had, two years ago, reported seeing ghosts that sometimes appeared in the middle of Ridge Road. Hindu Rao, after whom the hospital is named, died a natural death, but the previous owner,William Fraser, the British Resident, was murdered at the age of 36.

In the Walled City, a number of houses are believed to be haunted. In Suiwalan, the grave of Dada Pir is said to have ghostly visitors at night. The graves of Razia and her sisters are rumoured to be haunted, and also the shrine of Baba Turkman Bayabani, after whom Turkman Gate is named. There's a masjid near Ajmere Gate where djinns are said to come and drink milk on the night of Shab-e-Barat.

New Delhi, too, has its share of ghosts. The Khooni Darwaza is believed to be haunted by the three princes who were shot dead there by Lt. William Hodson in 1857. The ground around a newspaper office in Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg is haunted by an old man who overturns anyone found sleeping outside. The reason is that behind it is a Muslim graveyard. There's a resident ghost in Connaught Circus also, who goes past Scindia House every amavasya night, but only those with a sixth sense can see the burly spectre. Barakhamba Road has some old buildings where dead-and-gone owners come to have "midnight meetings".

A national daily's office close by, or rather its 1930s building which has been demolished, had its newsroom haunted by a British subeditor who had hanged himself while alone on night duty. In Subhash Nagar,West Delhi, spirits from a nearby cemetery regularly came for khana at a dhaba after it was closed at night. There are houses in Nizamuddin, Greater Kailash and Defence Colony which sometimes lie vacant, as the tenants leave because of the fear of ghosts.

In Mehrauli, too, ghosts from the time of the Delhi Sultanate (1206 AD) are believed to practise with swords and spears at night. The same sort of activity is said to go on at the Purana Qila. And in Delhi Zoo, the yarns centre around weird animals appearing suddenly, and of a phantom woman who dances at the Mughal Minar preserved inside. Skeptics dismiss all this as rubbish, but the gullible thrive on such stuff. No wonder, Delhi is called the City of Djinns!

Delhi GateLegend: A British Tommy shot dead a sweeper woman he was in love withApparition: Banshee wails and a Tommy, walking with his head in his hand, every night.Nicholson's cemeteryLegend: Brig-Gen John Nicholson, who fought and died during the Mutiny, is believed to rest fitfully in the city's oldest grave near ISBT.Apparition: A soldier, with flowing beard and piercing eyes, on a white horse.

Walled cityLegend: A number of houses and most graves are believed to be haunted.Apparition: Djinns are said to come and drink milk on the night of Shab-e-Barat at a masjid near Ajmere Gate.

Ronald Vivian Smith, Journalist, columnist and author of The Delhi that No-one Knows, Smith is one of the best-loved chroniclers of Delhi.

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